Luke Skywalker Journeys to the Dark Side? No, According to Mark Hamill

Contributed by

Joshua Rowe@what3vo

Nov 8, 2017 @ 4:02pm

Share this Post

1

0

0

Mark Hamill weighs in on the popular rumor of Luke Skywalker turning to the Dark Side in The Last Jedi.

There has been a lot of mixed information floating around the internet for months from the cryptic trailers to the official movie posters and IMAX displays. The biggest shock comes from Luke's line at the end of the first teaser trailer released by Lucasfilm: "I only know one truth: It's time for the Jedi to end."

Here's what Mark Hamill had to say about Luke's latest state and what to expect in The Last Jedi:

"I'm sure this line is a great shock to the audience, so you can imagine how I felt! This is a huge change for a character who once represented optimism and hope. It's a radical decision to drop out of everything he's ever believed in."

The last time we saw Luke was at the very end of The Force Awakens on a remote island on Ahch-To, gazing into the vast ocean and not saying a word upon Rey's arrival. There's no doubt that he's broken and troubled by the events that happened before The Force Awakens however, it seems now that Luke turning to the Dark Side is far-fetched.

"In Star Wars, The Force Awakens, Luke has lost confidence in his ability to make good choices. It haunts him to the core. But he hasn't gone to the Dark Side. This isn't an evil version of him. But it's still an incarnation of the character I never expected. It pulled me out of my comfort zone. It's a real challenge. I don't think Luke's fundamental personality has changed except that he is older and his life experiences have shaped his outlook the same way they do for all of us."

True words. However, I do wonder about some of the shots from The Last Jedi's official trailer like what looks to be a confrontation about to go down between Rey and Luke as she emerges from a pool of water.

Although the trailer was meant to deceive to keep us guessing, it's still a possibility, just highly doubtful, that there may be some showdown between the two characters.

Hamill continues his interview about Luke Skywalker turning to the Dark Side:

"The biggest challenge for me was actually in the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. I had to know what happened to Luke during those years. I had to glean decades of backstory from the script. And some of it I had to make up for myself. I had to know what he went through during that time. It's not important to the storyline for the film, but I did discuss some of my thoughts with Rian Johnson to make sure I wasn't coming up with anything in my backstory that would affect Luke's portrayal in this film."

So it looks like we've been worried about nothing all along! I'm still excited to see how his character has developed over the last several decades since we last saw him in Return of the Jedi. There is still a lot of the untold story we don't know, and I'm hoping they revisit more of the flashback scenes from The Force Awakens in The Last Jedi.

Hamill concludes his interview with:

"The entire movie is filled with these kinds of jaw-dropping surprises, but you'll just have to see the film itself to discover what they are."

The good news is we don't have much longer to wait! The Last Jedi will be released in theaters in just over a month. Until then, I'm excited to post more speculation and read your thoughts!